With neuroscience and computer science bleeding into one another, there are a number of ways that computer programming can help in understanding the brain. This can be achieved via computational modeling. Computational modeling is the intersection of math, physics, and computer science that is used to study the behavior of complex systems via computer models. … Continue reading Technique Thursday: Computational Modeling
Neuroscience
Manic Monday: BoBo dolls and little kids
"Pow, right in the nose, boom, boom." "Suckeroo..stay down".
Seance Sunday: A Mechanical model of human learning and memory Part 1
This week's Séance Sunday will be on a paper by D. E. Broadbent. The paper begins with the proposition that people hate model building. The paper's purpose is to describe a very basic model of the human perceptual system. The above figure is the simple model for attention. Needed are a Y-shaped tubes and some … Continue reading Seance Sunday: A Mechanical model of human learning and memory Part 1
Findings Friday: Lucid Dreamers
Who wouldn't want to lucid dream,--be aware of oneself when dreaming, and able to control the dream? I sure would. I experienced it once, and needless to say, the experience left me craving more. There are techniques to enable yourself to lucid dream. They will be discussed in a future article. This article, however, will focus … Continue reading Findings Friday: Lucid Dreamers
Techniques Thursday: Memory Sleuth: How to tell a memory is false
In light of an earlier article I wrote on the vulnerability of memories, and how false memories can be planted in our minds, I decided to write an article on how to tell a memory is false. Consider Madrigal (yes, it's the name of a book character, from Dreams of Gods and Monsters if you … Continue reading Techniques Thursday: Memory Sleuth: How to tell a memory is false
Manic Monday: Loftus lost in the Mall
We've heard about how false memories can be "planted" in someone's mind. For example, people can be convinced they committed a crime they never did commit--in just a few hours! Others have been convinced they were raped, or molested as children. In 1999, Dr. Elizabeth F. Loftus conducted a study that greatly impacted our understanding of … Continue reading Manic Monday: Loftus lost in the Mall
Seance Sunday: The Snark was a Boojum
This article certainly starts off fun. The article, written by Frank A. Beach, begins with a reference to Lewis Carroll's poem, "The Hunting of the Snark." In the poem, a crew goes hunting for a snark, which turns out to be a very dangerous boojum. The article by Beach goes on to state that for anyone … Continue reading Seance Sunday: The Snark was a Boojum
Findings Friday: The brain can help you burn fat
With many individuals pronouncing "losing weight" as their new years' resolutions (I'm one of those individuals, I might add), here is some interesting new research: The brain may instruct the body to burn more fat. Now, around our bodies, fat is stored in fat cells, or adipocytes. This is called "white fat". Around our necks, … Continue reading Findings Friday: The brain can help you burn fat
Technique Thursday: Deep Brain Stimulation: Electrocuting the brain
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) involves inserting and implanting electrodes within the brain. The electrodes produce electrical impulses that serve to regulate the brain's abnormal impulses. These electrode impulses can also serve to modulate neurochemistry. A pacemaker-like device controls the electrode impulses, ensuring that the right frequency is delivered. The device is connected to the electrodes … Continue reading Technique Thursday: Deep Brain Stimulation: Electrocuting the brain
Manic Monday: Electroshock and LSD: Child Experiments
In the 1950s, Tulane University doctors performed a craniotomy on a 17-year-old girl who was considered “retarded.” In childhood, she had this label put on her, and in adolescence, she was further diagnoses as schizophrenic. The craniotomy, therefore, was a treatment for her schizophrenia. An incision was made through her cortex via the lateral ventricle, … Continue reading Manic Monday: Electroshock and LSD: Child Experiments
